Hay shortage grips central Missouri farmers

Hay shortage grips central Missouri farmers

A widespread drought throughout the Midwest has caused a shortage of forages needed by cow-calf cattle farms in central Missouri.

Pastures long ago dried up this summer, and hay and other forages are scarce. Crop yields are reduced drastically, and even established trees are stressed or dying from the drought.

The National Climatic Data Center reports the spring and summer of 2012 has been the warmest and driest April-through-July stretch in Missouri during the last 118 years. The federal agency reports crops and livestock have been ....